Towns plan concert to help pay for pollution projects

August 06, 2012|By DAVE McMILLION | davem@herald-mail.com

Boonsboro Town Council members Monday night decided to join the town of Williamsport in organizing an all-day rock concert at Williamsport’s River Bottom Park to help raise money for a Chesapeake Bay protection program.

Counties and municipalities across the state are trying to figure out how to pay for a new state Watershed Implementation Plan, or WIP, to help protect the Chesapeake Bay by reducing nitrogen and phosphorus discharges.

The plan is expected to cost Washington County and its municipalities $1.1 billion in the next 13 years in stormwater, wastewater and septic measures.

Williamsport’s share is an estimated $11.7 million and Boonsboro’s share is about $30 million.

Town Clerk/Treasurer Donnie Stotelmyer said previously that he and Councilman Bill G. Green talked about the possibility of having a concert at River Bottom Park in Williamsport. The idea evolved into a fundraiser for WIP costs, with an educational component about the health of the Potomac River, Stotelmyer said.

The concert, called Rockin’ at River Bottom, will be Sept. 15. Five bands are lined up to play.

Boonsboro Town Manager Debra Smith said earlier Monday that any other towns that participate in the concert would be able to share equally in its proceeds.

Boonsboro Mayor Charles F. “Skip” Kauffman Jr. praised Stotelmyer for his idea to have the concert and said it is a way for Boonsboro to help deal with a Chesapeake Bay protection plan that is “very, very cost-prohibitive.”

Kauffman said Boonsboro has already contributed significant resources toward protecting the bay with a $11.6 million sewer plant that became operational in 2009.

Boonsboro council members unanimously voted to join Williamsport in holding the concert.

Smith said Boonsboro already has some tickets at town hall, as well as some posters to promote the event.

Tickets cost $10 in advance and $15 at the door.

Stotelmyer has said 6,000 tickets will be available.

If all goes well, Green said previously, Williamsport could take in $60,000 to $70,000.

The co-headliner bands for Rockin’ at River Bottom are Rhino Bucket and Charm City Devils.

Three local bands — So Low, Calisus and Crush Theory — also are scheduled to play.